


in want of a pumpkin carver

by alexanderlightweight



Series: Words of October 2019 [22]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Minor Injuries, Pumpkins, Semi-Sentient Tentacles, Soft Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Tentacles, Tentacletober
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 09:41:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21013691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexanderlightweight/pseuds/alexanderlightweight
Summary: Danger, pumpkins and tentacles.  Oh my.Magnus wasn't quite sure why he thought trusting Alec and his tentacles to be in the kitchen without supervision was a good idea, but he had and now he sorely regretted it.





	in want of a pumpkin carver

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lynne_monstr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lynne_monstr/gifts).

> I have no idea what happened besides the fact that I'm very sleepy and I didn't like anything that I was working on so I put it all aside and wrote this instead.
> 
> Prompt: in the kitchen (I skipped ahead but will go back to finish some others)
> 
> also they're magical tentacles, they are not limited by minor complications like staying one size or length.

Magnus would be the first to admit that after realizing Alec loved his tentacles nearly as much as his tentacles loved Alec that he got a little lax with them. Oh, he was still in control -_ as much as anyone who had tentacles with a small semblance of sentience and magic could ever be in control _\- however they got away with quite a bit and Alec never seemed to want to rat them out.

As it was, he’d gotten in the habit of putting up a small mental and emotional barrier, just so that his attention wasn’t constantly divided and he could have a small time-out from their antics. Since they were still connected to him, they could only use magic to extend to an adjoining room and were thus limited in their escapades, which seemed a reasonable freedom at the time. 

“Magnus,” Alec called from the kitchen and he didn’t sound worried, if anything he sounded amused, “I think your tentacles are in shock.”

Magnus brought down the slight barrier he had between their emotions and his and quickly raised it back up after being hit with an avalanche of _ panic-guilt-sorrow _.

“What happened?” He asked, ignoring how the moment he stood from the couch they quickly retracted to his back, coiling to hide behind him.

“Mishap,” Alec said and he was holding a rather purple dishtowel to his shoulder, one that Magnus vaguely remembered being a light blue originally. “I suppose I got a little carried away and didn’t think a few things through with our project. However magical they are, it probably wasn’t a good idea to give them knives with you in a different room.”

“One of them stabbed you?” Magnus asked incredulously and he could literally feel the tentacle in question’s despair, so strong that it broke through the barrier.

“It was showing off,” Alec said with a soft, fond chuckle and oh, _ Alec _ thought this was hilarious. Alec _ apparently _ thought being stabbed was funny and that it was alright that the majority of Magnus’ tentacles wanted to murder the culprit. Magnus did not advocate for self-harm however and he let the offendent curl around his waist, putting an arm protectively around it. 

“Right, so tell me Alexander, why did they have knives?” Magnus asked, already making a mental note to never again let his tentacles do whatever it was they wanted with only his husband for supervision.

“Pumpkins,” Alec said and despite the bloodstained towel and the tiny lines of pain on his face, he looked radiant and happy. “Here, take a look while I grab my stele.”

“No need,” Magnus said hurriedly and he reached out, “I can heal that for you?” He left it open-ended but behind him his tentacles sparked with magic and perked up. 

“Are you sure? They would have healed it but I was worried, you came back pretty exhausted from using your magic tonight.” Alec came closer but his brow was creased with concern now and as sweet as it was, Magnus sighed. One of his tentacles seemed to share his exasperation and reached out to -very gently- flick Alec’s nose.

“Alexander, I am a Prince of Hell and the High Warlock of Alicante. The exhaustion wasn’t from a drain on my magic but from dealing with bigoted shadowhunters, honestly, thinking I wouldn’t have the energy for a simple healing spell.” Magnus gave Alec a stern look and his husband shrugged sheepishly, allowing a tentacle to quickly take the towel while a different one gently trailed along the wound, healing it.

“Thank you,” Alec said, petting the tentacle and then reaching over to press a kiss to Magnus’ lips, “I appreciate it, even if they did overreact.” 

“Yes well, what was the pumpkin project you mentioned?” Magnus asked, curious despite his caution. 

“Pumpkin carving,” Alec laughed sheepishly, “I know it’s a mundane thing but it seemed like it would be good dexterity practice and kind of fun. I think Madzie was hoping to do it this year at some point too and I know Catarina has been busy.”

“You’re carving pumpkins with a runed adamas arrow?” Magnus asked, looking to where his tentacle was pointing and a little dumbfounded at the idea. 

“They’re sharp and small, it’s easy to make complicated designs with them. With the right amount of force they can go through someone's skull, it made sense to use them on a pumpkin.” Alec defended and moved his arrow out of reach with a scolding glare to the wayward tentacle, “also not what stabbed me.” 

One of his tentacles nudged him and handed Magnus one of the cameras he kept around, it was on and flicking through it, he saw several adorable photos of Alec meticulously working on a pumpkin, tongue sticking out his mouth in concentration as a random tentacle emulated a headband and kept his bangs out of his eyes. “As sweet as all of this is,” he murmured, “I think our darling Alexander is due for a haircut.” 

One of the tentacles cheerfully summoned a small pair of scissors and Magnus snapped his fingers, making the item disappear. “No,” he said sternly, “no sharp tools around squishy husbands.” 

Across the room Alec made a noise of affront and Magnus looked up to find him with his arms crossed over his chest, a mulish look on his handsome face, “I am not squishy.” He said sternly defending himself, “I was merely taken by surprise.” 

“You were stabbed Alexander, ergo the facts are that parts of you were squishy enough to be penetrated.” Magnus said and it was only after Alec started chuckling that he realized what he’d said. “Oh for the love of- Alec I’m being serious.”

“Well, I mean if the facts say that I’ve been penetrated,” Alec said with glee, “then I guess you have all the evidence you need.”

Magnus raised a brow, unimpressed by his husband’s comedy. “Yes, _ hilarious _ Alec. Truly, yours is a humor unmatched by many a comedian.” 

“Right, you’re being very sweet and worried and I’m being silly.” Alec looked contrite for all of a moment and then added, “I’m sorry for being squishy and getting stabbed.”

Magnus sighed, “you’re lucky you’re cute, Alexander,” he warned and pressed a kiss to Alec’s jaw.

“Come see the pumpkins now?” Alec asked earnestly, all guileless charm and soft smiles and Magnus melted from his previous ire.

“Yes darling, I’ll admire your skills as a pumpkin carver,” he promised. “First though, just so no other injuries happen for the sake of pumpkins, this one is particularly upset.” He said and patted the tentacle around his waist which unwrapped itself almost mournfully. It was hesitant as it reached out to Alec and he chuckled, offering his hand and letting it curl around his wrist.

“It was an accident,” he said, petting it gently. “Besides, it hardly beats that time when we tried to have sex in that little hotel in Minsk and I got that concussion because we didn’t fit in the shower. Remember? You tried to heal me but accidentally set off the wards as it was run by a seelie.”

“Why,” Magnus bemoaned, “would you remind me of that? I _ finally _ had almost blocked it from my memory.”

“Oops,” was all Alec said but he was laughing again, Magnus could tell.

The pumpkins themselves were very well carved, Alec was after all a master at runes and while Magnus had never seen pumpkins decorated by both angelic and demonic sigils before, he supposed they did rather embody the spirit of Samhain. 

“They’re very nice,” he admitted and tucked his chin over Alec’s shoulder, pressing a little kiss to the now healed wound. “But I’m still banning sharp objects.”

**Author's Note:**

> relationships come with a lot of of complications and some of them are bad jokes.
> 
> I'm on tumblr as [alexanderlightweight](https://alexanderlightweight.tumblr.com)


End file.
